The Unfair Treatment of Human Workforce Expatriates in the UAE Is Spreading Alarmingly

To travel to Dubai and to stroll the streets of Abu Dhabi, to rejoice in the classic simplicity of Ajman and to view the sunset in Sharjah are the experiences that most people would like to put on their bucket list. It is not difficult to imagine the delight of a working class person when they discover that they have been given a job in Dubai and now their days are going to be better or so they think. Thousands of immigrants and expatriates move to the UAE with this impression to earn their bread and butter and send some of it back to their families back home. A huge number of the UAE’s workforce comes from the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Oman, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and Thailand.

Regrettably, very few of these hardworking folks get what they have been promised or the dreams they have envisioned. One of the most prevailing issues in Dubai and a nightmare for Human Right Activists is the unfair treatment of the labour force in the UAE that often leave the expatriates helpless, abused and dependant on their soulless employers.

Following are the different forms of unfair treatments the workforce is subjected to in the UAE:

No rest:

The treatment of labour and domestic servants in the UAE is the impersonation of the times when slavery used to reign. The workers are subjected to excessive physical work without any prospect of resting or a proper diet. Physical labourers most often die of exhaustion and at times, their bodies are not even sent back home for proper burials. And all this tireless work is to be done at minimum wage.

Non-payment:

It is one thing to endure hardships when you are getting money but exploited workers in the UAE are even subjected to this form of cruelty where they are not paid for weeks, months and even years. The employers take advantage of the lack of labor law protections and their vulnerability; subsuquently abusing them physically by making them overwork and underpaying them–or not paying at all.

Threats:

When the labour tries to take action upon being treated unfairly and being exploited, they are further threatened by ending all means of returning back home. It was discovered in Abu Dhabi that when the labourers wished to return home, the passports of the labourers were confiscated and their pays were reduced so pathetically that they could hardly move away from their current employment.

Physical Abuse:

Domestic female workers (mostly from Philippines) meet the worst fate at the hands of their employers and recruiters. They are physically abused behind closed doors and left completely deprived of basic necessities. When the UAE government stepped in to take measures against it, they failed to do an effective job. The abusive employers continue to live without a worry in the world.

Apart from these inhumane treatments, the workers are also deprived of everything they were promised including end-of-service benefits, visa renewal and new contracts. Exploitation of labor is one of the most fraudulent activities prevailing in the UAE at the moment. People going to the UAE for work suse caution before they leave their country of origin.